ROME, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Italy's main statistical agency on Friday lowered its forecast for the country's economic growth, citing continued global economic uncertainty.

ISTAT, Italy's National Statistics Institute, now projects the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 0.6 percent this year. This marks a decrease from the 0.8-percent estimate in December and the 1.1-percent projection made a year ago.

The downward adjustment brings ISTAT's outlook in line with earlier forecasts released by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Italy.

Looking ahead, Italy's GDP is expected to rise by 0.8 percent in 2026. Over the past two years, the economy posted growth of 0.7 percent annually. ■